Came back to the car the other day to find some so-and-so had left a large dent in the door. Have been told it needs a new skin and quoted £650 for the repair. With a £150 excess I would be claiming £500 from my insurer but losing a "life" on my protected NCB.
I presume that even though the percentage NCB is protected the premium will go up for the next three years because of the claim and we are about to put a our 17 year old daughter on to the ploicy as a learner.
Does anyone have any idea whether I would be better off in the long run if I paid the full cost of the repair myself and avoided an insurance claim?
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What value a "life" on my protected NCB?
See here
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=24...9
and search for other similar replies by the same author.
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Whether it's worth it for £500 is one question - but I bet you could get the repair done for much less, which might make the decision easier (or harder I guess).
Have you gone to a main dealer for this quote? Try an independent bodyshop instead. The majority of dealers would only send the car to one anyway as they're not set up for bodywork. Could save a decent precentage of that cost.
Alternatively, you might even be able to get a SMART repair (depending on the nature of the damage), which would probably not be much more than a tenth of that price.
Edited by BazzaBear {P} on 10/01/2009 at 14:53
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I don't subscribe to the view that, even with a protected NCD, the premium will go up at the next renewal. Mine certainly didn't. It must depend on the particular company. As for you losing a "life" and the premium going up for three years, I don't see the reasoning in that. And why specifically three years? Why not ask your insurer what would happen if you made a claim? They are the definitive authority on such matters.
My view on car insurance is that I pay the premiums and they pay for claims. It works for me.
Edited by L'escargot on 10/01/2009 at 15:14
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I agree, its all very well having a protected no claims discount, but you will still have to declare any claim for the next five years. That will almost certainly up your premium regardless.
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Not with my insurer - the premium went up by, iirc, 2% - neither here nor there.
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I agree with Simon, this has been my experience.
I think it may depend on your current NCD, if you have lots, say 6+ years then maybe there is no advantage in getting any more or maintaining it at say 9 because it seems to have a diminishing return, but if you have an accident the premiums go up even though you may go from say 9 to 7 years NCD.
I don't bother protecting the NCD anymore as declaring the accident for the next 5 years seems to make more difference than a few more years NCD (I have 9).
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depending on the severity of the dent, and if it definitely needs a new skin, and you can wait a bit , scour all the breaker's sites and E bay for a matching skin in the same colour. I bought one for a Nissan a few years back for £100 - just the glass was worth that. It would be miles cheaper to install the complete door than to pfaff with colours. You may end up with an extra key if it's a front door , but then how much will you be saving ?
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Slightly off topic of the thread but very much connected. I have always protected my NCB but this has got me thinking. I always go fully comp but what if had an accident and say hit another car but didnt want to repair mine (only worth a monkey on a good day), would I lose my NCB if they only paid out to 3rd party? I would probably be better off not protecting the NCB and save a few £££'s come renewal time. What do you think?
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>>What do you think?
If your car is only worth a 'monkey' surely you would be better off saving money by only insuring it Third Party (Fire+Theft), rather than Fully Comprehensive with Protected No Claims.
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>>What do you think? If your car is only worth a 'monkey' surely you would be better off saving money by only insuring it Third Party (Fire+Theft) rather than Fully Comprehensive with Protected No Claims.
Its actually cheaper to insure fully comp that TPFT, dont ask why. I like fully comp as you get leagl cover and windscreen chip repair. Knocking off protection saves nearly 70 pound with my current insurer.
What I wanted to know is if you damage a third party, do you lose you NCB or is that only when you claim for damage to the insured vehicle on the policy?
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